From its earliest beginnings thousands of years ago, the course of man’s progress has been measured by his empires. Large, dynamic flows of power, people, and culture that merge, thrive, then break apart - the pieces only to merge again in a new configuration, the process to be repeated. Through pictures and words, "Empires: Their Rise and Fall" brings the reader face to face with many of the world’s greatest empires. Full-color photographs are combined with an absorbing narrative in a lively historical account of each empire and an examination of the period’s most enduring cultural achievements. This volume in the series focuses on The Pre-Columbian God-Kings, and The Papal States. From the simple agricultural life over 4000 years before Christ to the arrival of the Spaniards in South America, the vibrant, dynamic societies of the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the Incas are still shrouded in uncertainty among scholars as to the paths of their social, cultural, and political development. Yet Pre-Columbian refinements in crafts and the arts continue to be studied and enjoyed by people the world over, their true histories still temptingly beyond our grasp. As to the Papal States, there is no lack of dramatic incident in the history of the papacy, particularly in the early days of the Church. The Christian leaders of the infant Church were, in a sense, minority heroes who reconciled themselves to the possibility of meeting death by crucifixion or enduring a lifetime of servitude, torture, or exile. Persecuted by the state, members of the early Christian communities were often forced to live in catacombs, underground tunnels that also served as cemeteries. From these uncertain beginnings grew an institution that was, at selected moments in history, to wield supreme spiritual and temporal authority throughout the world.